Carlos Sainz seals a fantastic seventh place at the Hungarian GP: "We can be very happy"

Carlos Sainz seals a fantastic seventh place at the Hungarian GP: "We can be very happy"

Next week he will drive half a day during the Hungaroring Testing Days

Mogyoród, July 30th 2017.- Carlos Sainz wrapped-up the first half of the 2017 Formula 1 season with a remarkable seventh place at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the best possible result he had in store in a race in which he had to extract all the potential of his car to secure six valuable positions that consolidate himself in ninth place in the Drivers' Championship. Scuderia Toro Rosso is now only two seconds short from the fifth place in the Constructors', which at the beginning of the season was set as the goal of the year

With temperatures close to 30 degrees in the air and the track at 55, Carlos did a phenomenal start when the lights went out. By the time he exited Turn 1, he had already recovered from ninth to seventh. He gained another spot thanks to an incident in Turn 3. From then on, it was all about defensive driving as he had to protect from Fernando Alonso, whose pace was noticibly faster than Carlos' STR12.

The Spaniard sticked to sixth place up until the pit-stops, in Lap 36. He changed from supersoft to soft. Two laps later, McLaren's advantage was simply too much and Carlos fell to seventh. He managed to hold on to that position until the chequered flag, despite the pressure of the Force Indias. A very well deserved result to keep alive Carlos' 2017 record: he has scored points in each and every race that he has finished: 7 of 11.

After getting out of the STR12, the driver was very happy. "I am very happy, because the weekend was almost perfect. We did a great Qualifying and a great race. We were ahead of the McLarens... And then we held back Fernando as much as we could. His pace was faster. I did all I could, so we can be happy finishing seventh".

The start was crucial. "I did a good start. I managed to close on the McLarens before the braking zone and then I took the outside line into Turn 1. I overtook them and then defended my line through Turn 2. I almost passed a Mercedes, but it was better not to exaggerate", he explained.

Now it is summer break. "I'm looking forward to the holidays, mainly because of this result. After two races where things didn't turn the way I expected, with issues that were beyond my control, I can leave with a smile on my face and feeling much more relaxed. It was a flawless weekend and we executed everything to perfection. I am very happy".

He smiles about his fight with Fernando Alonso. "It was great fun, a great battle. It's hard when some rivals are 20 seconds ahead of you, because it just shows that their paces is faster. Something happened yesterday in Qualifying, because some were half a second faster than us. So I am very happy that we made the most out of the weekend".

Truth is, Carlos will drive the STR12 one last time before enjoing his holidays. He will drive the Toro Rosso half a day during the testing days that will be held at the Hungaroring on August 1st and 2nd, to try and help his team in their will to improve for the rest of the season.

Formula 1 will go into summer break before the testing days. The sport will return in late August for the Belgian Grand Prix, which will be held between the 25th and the 27th. As always, we will keep you updated about Carlos via his official website www.carlosainz.es and our Twitter account @carlosainzinfo.